IEP Chandigarh, May 23    

   With an aim of teaching the children of the state as per the need of hour, a one-day tour program was organised for the ninth grade students of the Schools of Eminence to introduce them educational institutions. The ambitious project of Schools of Eminence was launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government.          Divulging about the tour program, Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that students of 94 Schools of Eminence have visited to reputed educational institutes include Guru Nanak Dev University, Punjabi University, IIT Rupnagar, NIT Jalandhar, Punjab Technical University, NIS, NIPER and Chandigarh College of Engineering under the Study Tour program.           Mr. Bains said that these students will be sent to visit prominent industrial units like Verka Milk Plant, Trident, Hero Cycle, Viatone Energy Private Limited, Pepsi Plant, Swaraj Mazda, Mel Goindwal Sahib on a one-day study tour on May 26.           Mr. Bains said that the purpose of these visits to stir the students mind to study in higher education institutions and to introduce them to the idea of becoming an entrepreneur or doing something new through a visit to the industrial units.           He said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is committed to provide the best education to the students of the state and is continuously working in this direction. 

IEP Chandigarh, May 24

          Lauding the efforts of all the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for playing pivotal role in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Friday said that the Punjab state has successfully achieved 98% coverage for the first dose of Covid vaccination, while, 86% for the 2nd dose for 18+ population. The data is per the data available on CoWIN Portal till May 12, 2023.

          The Health Minister was presiding over the meeting collaboratively organised by the USAID and Punjab Health Department to share the experiences and the learnings during Covid pandemic, particularly in the field of COVID-19 vaccination. He was Chief Guest on the meet, which was organised to recognise the efforts of all the stakeholders with whose contributions Punjab was able to fight Covid in a successful manner.

          Multi-stakeholder partnerships and strong community engagement was the force behind enhancing COVID-19 vaccine coverage. Momentum Routine Immunization Transformation & Equity project, funded by USAID, in partnership with the State Health department, had worked towards increasing the demand and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, for the vulnerable and marginalised population of the state including the migratory population and transgender community.

          Dr Balbir Singh acknowledged the invaluable contribution of the project and its local partners— Society for All Round Development-SARD India, MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child, Transport Corporation of India-TCI, and HelpAge India, in achieving the COVID-19 vaccination targets efficiently during the meet. He also praised commendable support by the religious institutions of Punjab, especially ‘Sri Akal Takht Sahib’ and ‘Deras’ through mass appeal which resulted in considerable increase in the number of vaccinations.

          He exhorted everyone to follow a healthy lifestyle to prevent diseases. He also underlined the role of Ayurveda and Homeopathy in treatment of chronic diseases. “Soon, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government would introduce regular Yoga and lifestyle modification sessions in all the health wellness centres,” he said.

          Health Minister also released a coffee table book depicting the project’s journey in Punjab along with books for children developed jointly by SARD and the National Book Trust (NBT).

          During the event, the NGOs acknowledged the support received from the Health Department of Punjab for their proactive support in ensuring vaccine supply to meet the necessary targets. The NGOs used this opportunity to showcase the success stories and innovative approaches applied during the implementation of the project.

          Dr. Gopal K. Soni, Project Director, Momentum Routine Immunization Transformation & Equity project highlighted that the NGO partners of Punjab used unique strategies of project implementation by engaging Faith-based organisations and visiting non-conventional places of gatherings including Grain Markets, Deras, Industrial Sites, etc. to target the most vulnerable and marginalised communities to intensify the vaccine uptake.

          To build confidence in vaccines and ensuring the COVID-19 vaccination is accessible to all, the teams conducted special vaccination camps for persons with disability, children, the elderly population, the transgender community, etc. which are great learnings from the project and could be replicated to strengthen other immunisation programs of the country, he said. “The project is thankful to the State Government, Health Department and other departments for supporting this initiative,” he said.

          Director Health and Family Welfare Punjab Dr Adarshpal Kaur acknowledged the assistance provided by the NGOs to connect with marginalised and vulnerable society and supported government efforts to extend the reach of routine immunisation drives.

          Senior health department representatives,Director Health Services ( Family Welfare) Dr. Ravindra Pal Kaur,  Director NHM Dr. S.P. Singh, State Immunization Officer Dr. Balwinder Kaur, State Nodal Officer (Covid) Dr. Rajesh Bhaskar, Joh Snow India Punjab State Team, District Health authorities and community stakeholders were also present at the occasion.

IEP Chandigarh, May 4      

    The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is continuously making efforts to provide basic facilities, clean and pollution free environment to the people of the state.  Taking another step forward in this direction, Local Government Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar announced that it is proposed to spend Rs 7.27 crore for the development works of Municipal Corporation Moga.          In this regard, Local Government Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar said that the development works include the laying of a sewer line from Parwana Phatak to Chokha Palace Chowk in Ward No. 40 and 41, construction of a rain harvesting recharge well at the Municipal Corporation Moga office, and the installation of a straight bore at Purani Ghall Kalan Road (New Hakam Ka Agwar) in Ward No. 43.          Other development works include the installation of straight bores at Kabir Nagar in Ward No. 15, Sadhan Wali Basti in Ward No. 24, and Prem Nagar in Ward No. 14. The provision and laying of a sewer line in the street adjoining Mallan Shah Road and the repair of machinery installed at various disposals, motors, and sewer pumps in Moga City are also included in the plan.          Furthermore, the project involves the installation of a piezo meter at the dump site in Moga, the provision and laying of a sewer line, repair of manhole chambers, and road gullies in Zone C and D in Moga City. Additionally, Providing and Laying (300X200 MM) deep bore tubewells with reverse rig method or any other latest technology will be installed against failed bores at Akalsar Gurudwara Shamshanghat in Ward No. 23, Preet Nagar Shamshanghat in Ward No. 27, Mohalla Sandhuan in Ward No. 33, and Mehmewala Village Shamshaanghaat.          He also added that there is a plan to conduct many other development works in the same way at Municipal Corporation Moga.          The development works are expected to improve the infrastructure and facilities in the Municipal Corporation Moga, providing residents with better amenities and a more livable environment.

IEP SAS Nagar/Derabassi, May 04

 Chairman of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Mr. M. Venkatesan arrived at Derabassi to meet the families of the workers who died while cleaning the tank of Federal Agro Meat Plant, village Behra and the family of the worker who died while cleaning the sewer line at village Jolan and also visited the Federal Agro Meat Plant. Deputy Commissioner Mrs. Aashika Jain and SSP Sandeep Kumar Garg were also present. The family of Manak Singh who died at the Federal Agro Meat Plant, village Behra and the victim’s family of village Jolan incident arrived at SDM office to meet Mr. Venkatesan. The families were given Rs.02 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.  Along with this, Mr. Venkatesan instructed the officials to give due compensation to the families as per the instructions issued by the government and the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Along with this M.S. Act, E.S.I. And whatever amount is due regarding P.F.,  should be given to the families. Apart from this, it should be ensured that the maximum amount of compensation should be given to the victims’ families by the Federal Agro Meat Plant. This amount should be given in the form of FD to the family members so that there would be no scope for any dispute. Mr. Venkatesan also visited the Federal Agro Meat Plant. It is worth mentioning here that when the chairman visited the plant, no responsible person from the plant was present there to answer his questions. On this occasion, Deputy Commissioner Mrs. Aashika Jain assured the Chairman of the National Commission that the compliance of the issued instructions will be ensured. Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development) Damanjit Singh Mann, ASP Darpan Ahluwalia, SDM Derabsi  Himanshu Gupta, District Heads of various departments and Administrative Officers were also present.

IEP SAS Nagar, May 04 

Aashika Jain, Deputy Commissioner said that district administration working tirelessly for solution of the problems being faced by the people. She said that a complaint was received about blockage of the rain water drain on Kharar-Banur highway.  For past some time the drain got blocked due to various reasons including plastic, bottles, polythenes etc. Instructions were issued to NHAI for cleaning of the drain. The work was executed by the NHAI from Khuni Majra to Bhago Majra village where RCC drain ends. JCB and tractors were mobilized for execution of the work. All the necessary safety arrangements were made during the cleaning of RCC drain. Drain length of both sides which is around 12 kms has been cleaned. Out of the total length, where it was possible, the work was carried out in day time. In highly congested areas, the work was carried out at night when traffic movement gets slow keeping in mind the movement of the traffic. The work has been completed recently. The Deputy Commissioner said that no stone would be left unturned for the solution of the problems being faced by the people.

IEP Chandigarh, May 2     

     Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said that the state has recorded an increase of 22 percent in its own tax revenue during April 2023 as compared to April 2022. He said that as per the initial estimates, the state has collected Rs 3988.23 crore from its taxes during the April 2023 against Rs 3275.85 crore collected in April 2022.          Disclosing this in a press communique issued here, Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said that there has been a significant increase in the revenue collected from Goods and Services Tax (GST), State Excise, and Stamps and Registration. He further added that the total tax collection data is being evaluated by the Finance Department through the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) and there may be a slight difference in the final data.  that during this month,          Divulging further, the Finance Minister said that the highest increase of 483 crore rupees was seen in GST. The total GST revenue during April 2022 was Rs 1532 crore while this year the figure stood at Rs 2015 crore. He said that the excise revenue increased by Rs 216.48 crore to Rs 781.12 crore this year compared to Rs 564.64 crore in April 2022. He said that the revenue collected from Stamps and Registration also increased by Rs 85.95 crore to Rs 441.35 crore this year as against Rs 355.4 crore in April 2022.          Finance Minister Cheema said that the Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been committed to increase the state revenue by bringing efficiency and transparency in the system. He said that the Punjab Government has tightened the noose around tax evaders and the current increase in revenue has been earned without putting any extra burden on any section of the society.

IEP Chandigarh May 2       

   The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, on Tuesday exposed a big scam worth crores of rupees by arresting seven accused including a revenue official for receiving huge compensations during acquisition of land on forged documents in Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) in connivance with officials of state horticultural and revenue department from 2016 to 2020.          Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the state VB said in this regard, FIR no. 16 dated 02/05/23 under sections 409, 420, 465, 466, 468, 471, 120-B of IPC and section 13(1) (a), 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered at VB Police Station, Flying Squad -1, Punjab at Mohali. In this case main accused namely Bhupinder Singh resident of Bakarpur, Mohali district along with Mukesh Jindal, Shaman Jindal wife tMukesh Jindal, Praveen Lata wife of Chanchal Kumar Jindal, both residents of Model Town Bathinda, Vishal Bhandari resident of Sector 40-D, Chandigarh, Sukhdev Singh resident of Bakarpur, Binder Singh resident of Sector 79 , Mohali and Bachitar Singh Patwari, revenue Halka Bakarpur (now Kanungo) SAS Nagar have been arrested.          He informed that apart from this, officials of horticultural department namely Jaspreet Singh, Vaishali, Dinesh Kumar, Rashmi Arora, Anil Arora, Vishal Bhandari etc. are yet to be arrested soon and more revelations may be made in this case.          The spokesperson further added that during the investigation of a complaint, the VB has found that in the year 2016, the GMADA has published notices in S.A.S. Nagar for acquisition of land pertaining to various villages and issued notifications under Section 4 in 2017 and under Section 19 in 2020.          Meanwhile, Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Bakarpur, a property dealer, in connivance with officials/employees of GAMADA, Revenue and Horticulture department, along with his other colleagues namely Anil Jindal, Mukesh Jindal, Vikas Bhandari etc. started planting guava orchards on the agricultural land by getting land on general power of attorneys, he added.          He informed that the above said accused people prepared a fake Girdavari register in the year 2019 in collusion with the Halka Patwari Bachitar Singh in which they obtained compensation worth crores of rupees illegally by showing that they owned guava orchards on their land since 2016.          He further added that during the thorough probe it was found that the main accused in this case, Bhupinder Singh, has taken compensation of around Rs 24 crore for guava plantations for himself and his family members. Similarly, Mukesh Jindal, a resident of Bathinda, has defrauded the government by taking compensation of about Rs. 20 crores.          Apart from this, in this case, many other persons have also taken compensation of crores of rupees from the government illegally by showing guava orchards in their land.          In this way, the VB has exposed a big scam of crores of rupees and the remaining accused would be arrested soon. In this case further investigation was under progress, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, May 2 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said that ‘dawn of new era’ has taken place in the state with the unprecedented pro-people initiative of changing office hours which will save 350 Megawatts (MW) of power daily and around Rs 40-45 crore from May 2-to July 15. “Apart from facilitating the people, the landmark move will also help in enhancing the efficiency of the government employees, asserted the Chief Minister while interacting with the media persons here at the committee room in the Punjab Civil Secretariat I. The Chief Minister, who set the example by arriving in his office at 7:28 am, said that this decision has been taken after taking the consent of the majority of the stakeholders in a series of deliberations. He said that this decision will act as a catalyst in saving the people from scorching heat that is expected to be witnessed in the coming months. Bhagwant Mann said that though the tradition of setting watches in accordance with change of weather has been a routine feature in many western nations but in India this historic initiative has been taken for the first time. Dwelling more details, the Chief Minister said that it will enable a common man to do his work early in the morning without  taking leave from his work. Likewise, he said that this will also facilitate the employees as they will be able to attend the social functions after the office hours. Similarly, Bhagwant Mann said that the employees will also be able to spend more time with their children who will also come home at the same time. The Chief Minister said that this decision is likely to save 350 MW of power daily in government offices thereby curtailing the power expenditure of the government offices considerably. He said that as per statistics of the POWERCOM 1:30 pm to 4 pm is the peak hour of the power usage but as now the offices will be closed at 2 pm so it will help in cutting power usage. Bhagwant Mann said that on an average Rs 16- Rs 17 crore will be saved every month adding that from May 2- July 15, the state government is expected to save Rs 40- Rs 42 crore. The Chief Minister said that the new time table will also ensure that maximum sunlight is utilized in the government offices. He said that after July 15 the decision will be reviewed after taking feedback from all the stakeholders, especially the common man. Bhagwant Mann assured the people that the state government will take more such citizen centric decisions in the coming days too for which advance planning has already been done. The Chief Minister said that not only power but it will also help in managing the traffic movement efficiently. He said that many other states have been enquiring about this step and it is likely to be replicated in other states too. Bhagwant Mann envisioned that in big cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and others such steps can help in streamlining the traffic chaos thereby giving much needed respite to common man.  The Chief Minister categorically said that there is no dearth of power in the state as abundance of electricity is being generated to cater to needs of all the sectors whether it is agriculture, domestic or industry. Citing an example, he said that the Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant at Ropar has coal for 35 days instead of earlier when the threat of darkness loomed large due to acute shortage of coal in the state. Quipping on statement of Haryana Power Minister for his baseless and irrational statement regarding power in state, Bhagwant Mann advised him to refrain from putting his nose in affairs of Punjab and focus on his own state. On the occasion Additional Chief Secretary to CM A Venuprasad, Special Principal Secretary to CM Ravi Bhagat and others were also present. 

IEP Chandigarh, April 25

The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has provided 28,873 government jobs to the eligible youth of the state during the first year of its tenure, as a result of which the youth of the state are giving up the way to go abroad.Rupinderjit Bains, who got a job as a clerk in the Public Works Department, born in village Bhaini, district Rupnagar and married in village Nain Kalan, Patiala, told that the Punjab government was securing the future of thousands of youths of the state by giving them employment. She said that the youngsters who got jobs will spend their lives in Punjab instead of going abroad and will serve the people of the state and contribute to making the state ‘Rangla Punjab’.Ms. Bains said that I have fulfilled my parents’ dream by getting a government job. She said that my father is a retired head teacher and it was his sincere wish that I get best education and stand on my own feet. She said that the Punjab government has empowered me by giving me a government job. She says that I am able to support my family financially with this.